Top Stories

• Malachi Flynn (who?) scores 50

• Pelicans implode against Magic

• Lakers locking in at the perfect time

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Games of the day

Last Night’s Top Games! (link to the box scores of every game from yesterday)

Jalen Johnson had 28 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his first career triple-double and the Atlanta Hawks overcame a 50-point effort by Detroit's Malachi Flynn for a 121-113 win over the Pistons on Wednesday night that clinched a berth in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. Flynn, whose previous career high was 27, was 18 for 25 from the floor and 9 for 12 at the line. The 50 points was a franchise record for a reserve. He also had a season-high six rebounds, five assists and five steals in 34 minutes. He has the lowest career average PPG (5.4) for a player who has scored 50+ points in a game.

Paolo Banchero scored 32 points, his 10th time reaching at least 30 points this season, and Orlando defeated New Orleans 117-108 on Wednesday night to lift the Magic half a game in front of the New York Knicks for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Zion Williamson scored 15 points but was slowed by a finger injury on his left hand, the result of a block at the rim on Jalen Suggs' layup attempt late in the second quarter. Williamson played for parts of the third and fourth quarters and appeared fortunate to avoid further injury when his legs were cut out from under him by Gary Harris, who slipped and fell while attempting to poke the ball away from the Pelicans’ star. Williamson later went to the locker room with trainers to have his finger checked, Pelicans coach Willie Green said, before returning to the game. He scored his final points on a dunk in the fourth quarter. Hopefully his injuries are nothing serious, as New Orleans needs him now more than ever with Ingram sidelined.

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League News

Around the League

• Luka Doncic and Dejounte Murray have been named Players of The Week for Week 23.

• The Los Angeles Lakers are peaking at the perfect time. The Lakers are ninth in the Western Conference, meaning they'd have to win twice in the play-in tournament to make the main playoff bracket. But they're making a push to move up. Los Angeles trailed Phoenix and Sacramento by 1 1/2 games entering last night. Phoenix won and Sacramento didn’t play. The Lakers are 9-1 in their last 10 games, keeping the Warriors at bay with a 2 game lead over them. Anthony Davis is the healthiest he’s been since he came to LA, as he’s played in 71 games so far this year, his most since 2017. LeBron’s age is barely slowing him down, as he’s still averaging 25/7/8. D’Angelo Russell has found his rhythm, as he’s about to become the only player other than Dame and Steph to have 200+ threes, 400+ assists, and 40%+ shooting from three in a season. Getting a top seed only to have to play LA in the first round would suck, as the low seeds aren’t as bad as they used to be. Can LeBron and AD make one more championship run before father time catches up to LeBron?

• Injury Updates: Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell will both miss the rest of the season. Malik Monk (knee) will miss 4-6 weeks. Kevin Huerter (shoulder) is out for the season. LaMelo Ball (ankle) is out for the season. Brandon Ingram (knee) will miss at least 2 weeks. Ausar Thompson (blood clot) is out for the season. Christian Wood (knee) underwent surgery and will be out multiple weeks. Bilal Coulibaly (wrist) sustained a fracture and will be out for the season. Alperen Sengun (ankle and knee) is likely out for the season. Saddiq Bey (knee) tore his ACL and is out for the season. Benedict Mathurin (shoulder) underwent surgery and is out for the season. Ben Simmons (back) is out for the season. Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) underwent surgery and will be re-evaluated in 1 week. Josh Richardson (shoulder) had surgery and will be out for the season. Scottie Barnes (hand) underwent surgery and will be out at least 2 weeks. Trae Young (hand) had surgery and will be re-evaluated in 1-2 weeks. Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) will miss at least 2 more weeks. Julius Randle (shoulder) will be out 1-2 more weeks. Marcus Smart (finger) will be out 1 more week. Gabe Vincent (knee) will be out at least 1 more week. Tari Eason (leg) had surgery and will be out for the season. Patrick Williams (foot) had surgery and will be out for the season. Zach LaVine (foot) underwent surgery and will be out for the season. Robert Williams underwent knee surgery and will be out for the season. Ja Morant had surgery on a torn labrum and will miss the rest of the season. We wish all these guys speedy and successful recoveries.

Front Office News

• Rajon Rondo announced his official retirement. The Free Agent market is still deep with vets like Kemba Walker, Nerlens Noel, Dwight Howard, Rudy Gay, Blake Griffin, Tyreke Evans, Austin Rivers, and John Wall ready to contribute to winning or to mentor young guys. Joe Harris, Victor Oladipo, and Killian Hayes were all cut or waived by their teams and are available to be signed. There are a few younger names on the market, like Kevin Porter Jr and Darius Bazley.

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NBA MVP Race

1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Last week’s ranking: No. 1

Season stats: 26.1 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 9 apg

His case: The two-time MVP continues to grind through left hip soreness and lower back pain. But Denver has won four of its last five going into Friday’s game vs. Minnesota. In the four games Jokic has played over that span, the 29-year-old averaged 29 points, 12.5 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

The Nuggets suffered a setback last Wednesday, losing to Phoenix for the second time this month. A loss to Minnesota Friday night hurts his case as well.

2. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: T-3

Season stats: 33.1 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 9.8 apg

His case: There’s still work to do, but the wins are finally starting to match the 25-year-old’s otherworldly production. Throughout Dallas’ 9-1 run, Doncic has posted 29.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 10 apg and 1.7 spg.

Of course, the team’s only loss over that span came March 14 at Oklahoma City in a game Doncic missed due to a sore left hamstring.

3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 30.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.3 apg

His case: The injury report going into a home clash Friday with Phoenix didn’t look good with Gilgeous-Alexander listed as doubtful due to a right quadriceps contusion. He suffered the injury more than a week ago but continued to try to play his way through the pain.

The latest setback comes at a crucial time. After the matchup against the Suns, the Thunder play five straight on the road, including games at New York (a win), Philadelphia (a loss), Boston (a loss) and Indiana.

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: T-3

Season stats: 30.7 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Antetokounmpo fights hard. But the two-time MVP needs help with Milwaukee dropping two in a row despite the eight-time All-Star averaging 31.3 points and 16.3 rebounds in his last three games.

Antetokounmpo scored 20 straight points in the third quarter of last Thursday’s loss at New Orleans yet didn’t take a shot in the fourth quarter until 28.7 seconds remained. By comparison, Zion Williamson scored 11 of his 28 points in the final frame.

5. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 27.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 4.9 apg

His case: Tatum and the Celtics suffered their second loss to Atlanta in four days last Thursday, falling 123-122 in overtime in a game featuring the second-most lead changes (41) since the 2000-01 season. The five-time All-Star dropped a team-high 31 points with 13 rebounds.

But the loss marked the first time since March 7 that Boston suffered defeat in a game that featured Tatum, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis in the starting lineup.

The Next Five

6. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings (Last week’s ranking: No. 6)
7. Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns (Last week’s ranking: No. 8)
8. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns (Last week’s ranking: No. 9)
9. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers (Last week’s ranking: unranked)
10. Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers (Last week’s ranking: No. 7)

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Fantasy Leaders

Malachi Flynn doesn’t have a graphic of himself 😭

Overtime Thoughts

Hoopgrids

Hoopgrids is a daily basketball trivia game. You cross match each category to find a player that fits both. The rarer the player, the lower the score. The goal is to get the lowest rarity score possible.